Israel to Search Hungary’s Danube for Remains of Holocaust Victims

(UPI) — A team of Israeli divers plan to start searching the Danube River in Hungary this week in an attempt to recover the remains of Jews killed on the banks of the waterway during the Holocaust.

A dive team group, ZAKA Search and Rescue, was scheduled to begin scouring the river Tuesday, Israel’s Arutz Shiva reported.

During the last years of World War II, the Nazi-aligned Arrow Cross Party in Hungary killed tens of thousands of Jews in the capital city of Budapest. Many of them were shot along the banks of the Danube, and their remains were never recovered from the floor of the waterway.

BBC News reported some 565,000 Hungarian Jews died during the Holocaust.

Israel is conducting the search with assistance from Hungary. Any remains recovered during the search will be transported to Israel for burial.

“I’m pleased that the Hungarian Interior Minister has promised assistance, support, and technological equipment for the benefit of this project. I hope the ZAKA divers will be able to bring these holy martyrs to full Jewish burial,” Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said Monday from Hungary.

Divers are expected to use a sonar device that can detect objects at a depth of 500 feet.